Tag Archives: World Cinema

Review in Brief: Soni (2018/19)

Posted on May 15, 2019 by

The best thing about Netflix as a service is how it encourages the democratisation of cinema. So many promising new, diverse voices would not have an outlet without the streaming giant. SONI is a hidden gem, and you should all … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: The Wandering Earth (2019)

Posted on May 9, 2019 by

THE WANDERING EARTH either needed to be a lot smarter or a little bit dumber to really land. It’s fascinating to see China enter the international blockbuster arena in earnest with the killer premise of building monolithic engines on the … Continue reading →

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Review: Roma (2018)

Posted on February 22, 2019 by

You’re probably going to decide whether ROMA is for you or not by its opening shot, a very long shot of soapy water washing up and down some flagstones. It certainly sets the mood and the pace of the piece, … Continue reading →

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Review: Shoplifters (2018)

Posted on December 10, 2018 by

The list of Japanese films about petty crime and forgotten underclasses is short. The other that immediately springs to mind is TOKYO GODFATHERS and like Satoshi Kon’s Christmas animation, SHOPLIFTERS follows an unconventional family unit brought together on the streets … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Errementari (2017/18)

Posted on November 20, 2018 by

ERREMENTARI is a little gothic gem. It feels like what would happen if Guillermo del Toro remade one of James Whale’s darker Universal Horror films. “Errementari” is Basque for blacksmith, so appropriately this tells the tale of a village blacksmith … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Manhunt (2017/18)

Posted on October 2, 2018 by

Surprise, surprise, John Woo’s latest is very John Woo. MANHUNT’s action may take a while to really ramp up, but once it does you’ve got more people flying through the air, sliding along surfaces and rapidly expending and replacing guns … Continue reading →

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Review: The Lure (2015)

Posted on May 30, 2018 by

Mermaid horror-musical THE LURE is something else. Mostly because it’s a mermaid horror-musical, and I, like many others I’m sure, never thought I’d ever watch, let alone want or need, such a thing. It’s also apparently the first proper musical … Continue reading →

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Review: Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017)

Posted on May 18, 2018 by

MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER, the first film from Studio Ghibli successors Studio Ponoc looks stunning, but it does feel insubstantial. That’s not to say it’s bad, it’s just not really about much. I’m prepared to forgive a lot because … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Psychokinesis (2018)

Posted on May 15, 2018 by

What does Yeon Sang-ho, do after directing companion zombie thrillers TRAIN TO BUSAN and SEOUL STATION? Why a comedy-soap-superhero movie, of course! PSYCHOKINESIS follows a deadbeat dad (Ryu Seung-ryong) using telekinetic superpowers acquired from meteorite-contaminated springwater to save his daughter … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Blade of the Immortal (2017)

Posted on April 24, 2018 by

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL is one-man filmmaking army Takashi Miike’s 100th feature and arguably his largest scale project to date. I doubt the man who makes Ridley Scott look sluggish even broke a sweat (only a film a year, Ridders? … Continue reading →

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